Wings of the Light Hawk
by vsdefender
Summary: Chap. 2: Washu suffers a setback at the hands of a certain blonde bombshell.
1. Morning of the War

I don't own Tenchi Muyo, any of the characters or any of Washu's crazy inventions for that matter. I'm not exactly sure who owns them but I know that it's distributed in the U.S. by Pioneer. This fanfic is written without the consent of aforementioned owners and yadda yadda yadda.   
  
  
  
Wings of the Light Hawk  
  
  
  
Prelude  
  
  
  
  
She stood on a plane that led to all the infinite possibilities. She existed in a place that was nowhere and yet everywhere at once. She was timeless but touched every moment of eternity. She was ethereal yet she could shake the foundations of the universe. She was Tokimi.  
  
Before her floated a scene of apparent domestic tranquillity.  
  
"What is your opinion, D3?" she asked.  
  
She felt the gathering power as D3 appeared next to her. He looked at the view that she was currently studying. Many times they had spied on the Masaki household trying to ascertain the facts of any recent developments that might have happened. Particularly, she was interested in the activities of Washu and Tsunami. Also, since the advent of the seeming spontaneous ability to generate the Light Hawk Wings, the boy known as Tenchi Masaki was now of great interest to her.  
  
"That one is dangerous," she thought.  
  
Studying the view, D3 noted that the Masaki house seemed to be undamaged for once. Which was a rarity. Usually there was at least some damage to be seen. There had even been times when the aforementioned damage unfolded before thier eyes. The Lady Ayeka and the Space Pirate Ryoko being the main offenders. Of course, there was the time when Washu had exploded out the front door and ran screaming for the lake while behind her a noisy explosion blew out every window in the house.  
  
Most beings in the universe would have found such goings on to be humorous. However, both the Lady Tokimi and D3 were sorely lacking in the humor department.  
  
"An uneventful day. So it looks," D3 noted.  
  
If Tokimi had been human she would have growled in frustration. She had hoped that events would have precipitated a confrontation between the main participants by now.  
  
Certainly, the confrontations between the Lady Ayeka and Space Pirate Ryoko were not in short supply. However, the Lady Tokimi was not interested in them. They weren't powerful enough for her to even bother thinking about them except to note their effects on those who Tokimi was interested in.  
  
No, she was only interested in the condition of Washu, Tsunami and the young prince of Jurai. She had a long history with both Washu and Tsunami. Even if they didn't remember it. As for the boy, she remembered watching as he deployed the Light Hawk Wings and seemingly defied the very laws of the universe as he actually broke the gravitational pull of a black hole, shining like star and blazing with power and glory. Such a being was a power to be reckoned with.  
  
"If the desired events won't come to pass on their own then I must induce them myself," Tokimi said.   
  
"How so?" D3 asked.  
  
"It needs some planning to be sure," Tokimi said. "Still, I am confident that I will prevail. Washu is still unaware of the truth of my existance. That is, other than my capacity as Clay's former employer. The advantage is still mine."  
  
"The Lady Washu knows about the treatments that I used on both Clay and Zero," D3 said. "She will not rest until she discovers the truth."  
  
Tokimi sighed. "We can't allow that to happen yet. For her to know the truth or even worse, for her to find her way here would be a disaster at this point in time."  
  
"Lady Washu wouldn't even be aware of anything if it were not for Clay," D3 pointed out. "I knew he was not to be trusted."  
  
"We had to work with what we had," Tokimi said.  
  
"He was a weak tool. Quick to be bent and broken," D3 said. "One such as he could never hope to outwit someone as clever as the Lady Washu."  
  
"We have had this discussion before and I do not wish to discuss it again," Tokimi said with just the slightest hint of anger. "Thanks to Clay's incompetence we discovered the ability of the human boy. So even though it was a fiasco Clay's mission wasn't a total loss. What we must think about now is our future course of action."  
  
"Yes. What shall we do?" D3 asked.  
  
"The boy's control over the manifestations of the Wings of the Light Hawk is as yet minimal. While this is not yet a pressing matter it will become so in time. In his present state the boy is all but useless to me," Tokimi said.  
  
"How do you plan to change this?" D3 asked.  
  
"What I wonder is why Tsunami does nothing to correct this situation. Surely she must realize the danger he is in. Even now there are forces moving against the boy."  
  
"Perhaps we should separate Tenchi from source of danger for the time being," D3 said. "This could also help with the situation in regards to Lady Washu."  
  
"How so?" Tokimi asked, her interest piqued by the idea.  
  
"Lady Washu needs to be distracted from her current effort to break through the memory blocks that I placed in both Dr. Clay and Zero," D3 replied. "Such things have been arranged before.Perhaps we can initiate an event ourselves. Relying on human agents to do our bidding has thus far been unsuccessful."  
  
"Perhaps you are right," Tokimi concurred. "This could be to our advantage in several ways. The removal of Tenchi would certainly distract Washu. Also, we could more closely study the boy and his inablity to control the Light Hawk Wings. Perhaps even remedy the situation. It seems that he can manifest the Wings in times of extreme duress."  
  
"If we were to manufacture such times of extreme duress...." D3 said.  
  
"Yes, exactly," Tokimi said. "What type of event were you meaning?".  
  
"My thoughts were to use a reality contruct," D3 told her.  
  
"The idea has merit," Tokimi conceded. "However, there is the problem of seeing to it that Tenchi is transported to the reality construct."  
  
"Simple, we'll use a dimensional interface. It will be simplicity itself to penetrate their local time-space," D3 told her.  
  
The Lady Tokimi remained silent for a moment and pondered that statement. "Yes, that will be just the thing."  
  
"As you wish, my lady," D3 said. "I shall see to it."  
  
  
  
  
Chapter One - Part A : Morning of the War  
  
  
  
  
Arriving in kitchen Tenchi would have said that this morning was much like any other in the Masaki household. Sasami busy cooking. Ayeka busy setting up the table for the morning meal while muttering about an absent and presumeably still sleeping Ryoko. A sleepy Mihoshi acquiring her first cup of coffee and promptly dumping it on the floor. Washu destractedly sipping her tea while typing away on her holographic computer. Ryo-ohki getting underfoot while trying to score yet another carrot.  
  
"Morning, everyone," he said as he poured himself a cup of coffee. "That certainly smells delicious, Sasami. Of course, everything you make does."  
  
"It'll be ready in a moment, Tenchi," Sasami replied. "Maybe someone should wake up Ryoko and tell her breakfast is ready."  
  
"Hmmpphh," Ayeka snorted. "If she is too lazy to wake up at a decent hour then cold leftovers is just what that woman deserves."  
  
Tenchi sighed. Yup, another normal day at the Masaki home. "I'll go wake her up," he volunteered.  
  
"No! You mustn't!" Ayeka said loudly. Realizing everyone was now staring at her she blushed just the slightest bit. "That is, I meant to say that I will go wake her up myself."  
  
"Now there's an idea guaranteed to have the house in a shambles," Washu muttered.  
  
"What was that?" Ayeka said, turning her "don't piss with me" gaze on Washu.  
  
"Oh, nothing at all," Washu said. "You know me. Busy with my scientific research and all. Too busy to pay attention to whatever it is that you're talking about. Say! I have an idea. Why don't you go wake up Ryoko?"  
  
"When I came down this morning I noticed her sleeping on the couch," Mihoshi said to Ayeka.  
  
Ayeka stared at Washu until the diminutive scientist broke eye contact and resumed doing whatever it was that the Number One Scientific Genius of the Universe did when working on her holographic computer. Satisfied, Ayeka did an about face and headed for the couch in the main room. "I bet that worthless space pirate won't even say "thank you" for the wake up call."  
  
"With that attitude she sure won't," Washu observed after Ayeka was out of earshot.  
  
Tenchi was really trying to enjoy the morning and so had studiously ignored both Washu and Ayeka. However, the sounds of Ayeka waking up Ryoko proved impossible to ignore.  
  
"What the hell do you want?" came the voice of a now awake and angry Ryoko.  
  
Washu grinned and kept typing on her computer.  
  
"I'm waking you up for breakfast, you ungrateful barbarian!" Ayeka yelled and then stamped her foot in annoyance.  
  
Tenchi rolled his eyes and finished the cup of coffee.  
  
"Yeah, well I didn't ask you to!" Ryoko shot back. "Can't you see I'm trying to sleep!?"  
  
"Fine! Sleep all day. See if I care!" Ayeka shouted. "I hope you miss every meal from now and starve to death!"   
  
Ayeka loudly stomped her way back to the table.  
  
"That woman is impossible!" she snarled as she sat down next to Tenchi.  
  
Several minutes later Sasami laid the morning meal out on the table.   
  
Ayeka decided to put the unpleasantness behind her. "More coffee, Lord Tenchi?"   
  
"Um, sure. Thanks," he replied.  
  
"And here's some orange juice," Ayeka said as she poured him a glass.  
  
"Actually, I don't want...."  
  
"Now, let's not be difficult," Ayeka replied. "Orange juice is an excellent source of Vitamin C. It's essential that you get enough, Lord Tenchi. I don't want you to get sick."  
  
Tenchi resisted the impulse to roll his eyes. "You know what sounds good? A glass of orange juice. That's what." So saying he picked the glass and drained it.  
  
"Good health is the key to happiness," Ayeka said as she sat down next to Tenchi and sipped daintily from her own glass. "Or at least that's what I've always heard."   
  
"You don't say," Mihoshi said. "I've always heard that ignorance is bliss."  
  
"In that case, you must have cornered the market on bliss," Washu said under her breath.  
  
Breakfast proceeded peacefully from there. Ayeka contentedly eating in her deliberate and methodical manner next to Tenchi while the chair on his other side remained empty. Mihoshi stared longingly at the chair from across the table. However, she made no move to fill the chair in question. She had learned a painful lesson as to what happened if Ryoko found someone sitting "her" chair next to Tenchi at mealtime. In fact, Mihoshi had recieved that lesson several times. So now she merely cast a longing gaze at the empty chair next to Tenchi.  
  
Tenchi was aware of Ryoko's presence several moments before anyone else at the table due to an invisible hand running through his hair. Moments later another unseen hand joined in the fun. However, this hand strayed over his chest for a moment before taking a sharp turn to the south.  
  
Acting on instinct, Tenchi made a grab for the empty air just above his crotch. And snagged Ryoko's wrist just as her hand was about to find it's goal.  
  
"You're no fun at all," Ryoko complained as she finally made her morning appearence.  
  
"Ryoko, how many times do I have to tell you not to do that?" Tenchi complained.  
  
"Well, now that I'm up I'm really hungry," Ryoko said, settling into her chair. She hungrily eyed the food covering the table. "It all looks so good. I guess I'll just have to try it all." She was as good as her word and quickly filled her plate to overflowing.  
  
"Some people just have no concept of manners," Ayeka sniffed as she watched Ryoko stuff her mouth until she resembled nothing so much as she did a blue haired chipmunk.   
  
Ryoko had to settle for glaring at Ayeka as she heroically tried to swallow her mouthful of breakfast.  
  
Ayeka sneered at Ryoko. "Perhaps it would be better if you always had your mouth full. It certainly is a pleasant change from your constant insults and boorishness. Not to mention the fact that your voice grates on the nerves like fingernails on a chalkboard."  
  
"You're about to have a mouthful of fist!" Ryoko snapped as soon as her mouth was empty enough to talk. "Let's see what you sound like with a mouthful of broken teeth."  
  
"You're certainly welcome to try, my dear," Ayeka said with a chuckle.  
  
"I'll do more than just try," Ryoko said.  
  
At this point Tenchi felt it neccessary to try to head off the coming explosion. "Er, girls can't we all just eat in peace this morning?"  
  
Ayeka turned to Tenchi and pointed at Ryoko. "Lord Tenchi, I am trying to be peaceful. Surely you can see that it's this blue haired monster woman who is the cause of all our distress."  
  
"Um, well..."  
  
On his other side Ryoko grabbed his arm and gave him her best "sad puppy dog look". "See Tenchi? See how she always attacks me and says mean things to me?"  
  
"I...um..."  
  
"That's just like you. Always trying to twist things around," Ayeka said to Ryoko.  
  
"I'M the one twisting things around?" Ryoko said incredulously. "Talk about the pot calling the kettle black."  
  
"How dare you!" Ayeka snarled, her teeth clenched.  
  
"Truth hurts, huh?" Ryoko taunted.  
  
"The truth? You wouldn't know the truth if it walked up and bit you," Ayeka replied.  
  
Ryoko held up her fist. "Something's gonna bite you alright but it ain't gonna be the truth."  
  
Tenchi tried again. "Um... girls can we all ju-"  
  
Both girls turned on him.  
  
"Are you just going to stand there while this murderous space pirate disrupts the whole household?" Ayeka demanded.  
  
"I... uh..."  
  
"Tenchi, how can you take her side when it's obvious that she started it?" Ryoko asked, her gold eyes now wide with "innocence".  
  
"Ha! Still, either way I will finish this," Ayeka said, standing up as the kitchen was suddenly filled with small logs.  
  
Ryoko quickly jumped to her feet as her hands began to glow with intense energy. "Take your best shot," she said contemptously.  
  
"Why do you two have to do this at the table!?" Tenchi wailed.  
  
Washu's holo-computer vanished as she quickly got up from the table. "Now would be a good time for a strategic retreat."  
  
Sasami looked back and forth between Ayeka and Ryoko as the two girls stared each other down. "But breakfast isn't even over yet. All that food will go to waste," she said mournfully.  
  
"Little Washu is right, we should get while the getting is good," Tenchi said. He wasted no time, hoisting Sasami under his arm and making good his escape from the kitchen with Washu right behind him.  
  
When they reached what Tenchi considered to be a safe distance from the house he stopped running and turned back to look at the house.   
  
"Hey, where's Mihoshi?" Sasami asked as Tenchi set her down.  
  
Washu looked around. "Do you mean that bubblehead is still in the kitchen?" She let out a sigh. "That girl really is hopeless. Well, if she wants to wants to be in the middle of a firefight that's her problem."  
  
Right on cue they heard Ryoko scream and a moment later a massive fireball exploded out of the kitchen window.  
  
Tenchi put his face in his hands. "Why me? That mess is going to take forever to fix."  
  
"I just hope they're alright," Sasami said as she looked worriedly at the house.  
  
"I'm more worried about Mihoshi," Washu said. "I'm sure that both Ayeka and Ryoko are fine. Of course, if something did happen to Mihoshi then my lab would be safe."  
  
"Little Washu, how can you think such a thing?" said an outraged Tenchi.  
  
"Just kidding!" Washu said hastily. "No need to get all upset. Besides, I'm sure Mihoshi is alright. She always is. You could shoot that girl into a black hole and she'd come out with no scratches."  
  
"Already been done," Tenchi said.  
  
"Exactly," Washu said.  
  
Tenchi sighed heavily. "I still have to fix up the kitchen now."  
  
"Weeeeell....maybe not," Washu said.  
  
"No?" asked Tenchi hopefully.  
  
"I could easily whip up some repair bots to do it," Washu told him. "It's easy... for the Greatest Scientific Genius of the Universe!"  
  
"Thanks, Little Washu. I really appreciate it," Tenchi said.  
  
"Not so fast there, Tenchi," Washu said. "If I'm going to do you a favor then I think you should do me a favor as well."  
  
"Sure, Little Washu, what is it?"  
  
"There's a certain sample that I need from you, Tenchi," Washu answered.  
  
Tenchi sighed and his shoulders slumped. "If anyone needs me I'll be in the kitchen working."  
  
"But... don't you want to...?"  
  
"Forget it, Little Washu," Tenchi said, cutting her off. "I don't need those repair bots that badly." He set off back to the house.  
  
"What kind of sample were you talking about, Washu?" Sasami asked as she watched Tenchi walk away.  
  
Washu blushed faintly. "Ummmm.... well just a sample. Like a blood sample. Only a bit different is all."  
  
Sasami had a feeling that it was one of those subjects that she wasn't supposed to know about. "Oh," she replied and let the matter drop.  
  
  
  
Ayeka and Ryoko stumbled out the door and into the yard while half heartedly brushing the soot from their clothes. They looked up to see Tenchi approaching them.  
  
"I'm sorry, Tenchi," Ryoko said.  
  
"Lord Tenchi, please forgi..." Ayeka said, trailing off as Tenchi pushed past them and continued walking to the house.  
  
"Tenchi?"  
  
"Lord Tenchi?"  
  
Tenchi stopped and turned to face the two girls. "Who do you think is going to fix that mess? Everytime you two make a mess it seems like I'm the one who has to clean it up. I asked you not to start a war in the house but you two wouldn't listen."  
  
"I'm so sorry, Tenchi. Let me help you with..."  
  
"Yes, Lord Tenchi, I'll help you clean..."  
  
Both girls went silent as Tenchi glared at them. "I think you've done enough damage for one day. I'm really not in the mood to look at either of you right now." He turned his back on them and walked away.  
  
"I'd say he's pretty pissed," Ryoko said as she watched Tenchi walk away.  
  
"Very much so," Ayeka agreed.  
  
"No point in hanging out here looking like I fell down a chimney," Ryoko said and then faded from view.  
  
"Off to drink sake till she passes out, I shouldn't wonder," Ayeka said as she looked at the spot where Ryoko had been moments before. "No use standing around covered in soot. May as well go get cleaned up in the onsen."  
  
  
  
  
  
Mihoshi pushed the remains of the table off of her and stood up. "What happenened?" I sure hope it wasn't the shuttle again."  
  
Looking around she noticed that there was no one in what was left of the kitchen. Then she noticed that she was holding the handle of her coffee mug, the mug itself being long gone. "I guess breakfast must be over."   
  
  
  
  
  
Ayeka slid the door aside and stepped into the onsen only to find that it was already occupied. She was greeted the familiar sight of spiky blue hair and the smell of sake.  
  
Ayeka sighed and turned to leave. She really could use a nice relaxing hot soak but not at the expense of having to endure Ryoko's company.  
  
"Too good to share the onsen with me, Princess?" Ryoko said without turning to look at Ayeka.  
  
"Miss Ryoko, I think it best we avoid each other as much as possible," Ayeka said.  
  
"C'mon on in," Ryoko urged. "The water's good and hot."  
  
"Maybe later," Ayeka replied.  
  
"I have sake," Ryoko said, waving a bottle at the princess. "Besides, we need to talk."  
  
Ayeka turned back and slid into the water. She gulped down a large quantity of sake after Ryoko handed her the bottle.  
  
"Whoa! Slow down, Princess," Ryoko said, watching Ayeka."You'll pass out if you keep that up."  
  
"You wanted to talk, so talk," Ayeka replied.  
  
"I want to talk about this morning," Ryoko said. "I think we went overboard this morning. I haven't seen Tenchi this pissed since the time I accidently ripped the sleeves off of that kimono that belonged to his mother."  
  
"Yes, I don't recall Tenchi ever being quite so angry," Ayeka concurred. "In the future we really should avoid fighting inside the house. Of course, it wouldn't have happened if you hadn't been so hostile this morning."  
  
"Oh, I see. It's always my fault," Ryoko grumbled.  
  
"You bit my head off for trying to wake you up!" Ayeka snapped. "I was only trying to see to it that you didn't miss breakfast."  
  
"I had a rough night," Ryoko said. "I didn't get much sleep."  
  
"If you go to bed late then it's no one's fault but yours," Ayeka told her.  
  
"I couldn't go to bed!"Ryoko yelled. "Washu had me locked up in her damn lab for half the night!"  
  
"Whatever for?" Ayeka asked.  
  
"She said something about needing to check Zero's memory," Ryoko answered.  
  
"Well, she's had Lord Tenchi tied up in her lab before and he's never complained about it," Ayeka said. "Or at least he didn't complain much."  
  
"She also didn't tie him up and then leave him alone for half the night either," Ryoko retorted. "It was damn cold in there and she left me with only a tiny little shirt. And that's not to mention it was dark and lonely." Ryoko shivered despite the heat in the onsen.  
  
"I see," Ayeka said. "I'm assuming you haven't confronted Washu about this yet."  
  
"What good would it do?" Ryoko asked.  
  
"Well, you didn't have a problem blowing up at me this morning even though I didn't do anything to you," Ayeka pointed out.  
  
"I guess I just took it out on you because I'm more used to fighting with you," Ryoko told her.   
  
"That doesn't make it right," Ayeka replied.  
  
"What? You want an apology?" Ryoko asked. "Fine. I'm sorry. Happy now?"  
  
"Are you unwilling to confront Washu because she claims to be your mother?" Ayeka asked.  
  
"I don't know, " Ryoko said softly. "I was getting to the point where I was almost getting used to thinking of her as my mother. But now...."  
  
"Why not ask Tenchi to talk to her about this?" Ayeka asked. "I think he'd be upset if he knew about this."  
  
"No, I don't want that," Ryoko replied. "I don't want him coming to my rescue yet again. Besides, right now would be a bad time to ask him for favors."  
  
"I could confront Washu for you," Ayeka offered.  
  
"You?" Ryoko said in disbelief.  
  
"Ryoko, we are not close friends to be sure," Ayeka said. "But I don't hate you. Even if you think that I do. Nor do I believe that you hate me. At least I hope you don't."  
  
"No, I don't hate you," Ryoko admitted.  
  
"Lord Tenchi considers everyone that lives here to be family," Ayeka said. "As guests in his house we should try to remember that and act accordingly."  
  
"Are you saying that you consider me to be family?" Ryoko asked with a chuckle.  
  
"Tenchi does and that's what matters," Ayeka answered.  
  
"I guess I could think of you as a pain in the ass relative," Ryoko said.  
  
"That's very sweet of you," Ayeka said drily. "So we can agree to no more fights inside the house?"  
  
"It's a deal,"Ryoko confirmed. "From now on we'll take our fights somewhere where there isn't much to damage. Like the carrot fields."  
  
"That might upset Ryo-ohki," Ayeka pointed out.  
  
"I think we'd be better off blowing up carrots rather than kitchens," Ryoko said.  
  
Ayeka stood up and made her way out of the water.  
  
"Leaving already, Ayeka?" Ryoko asked.  
  
"If I soak any longer I'll start looking like a prune," Ayeka told her. "Besides, Tenchi should have cooled off by now. Perhaps now he'll allow me to help him."  
  
"Perhaps he'll allow US to help him you mean," Ryoko said. "No way am I gonna let you do everything."  
  
  
  
  
  
Tenchi looked at the pile of debris and sighed. Even though the amount of debris he had removed from the kitchen and piled in the yard was sizable there was still plenty left inside. His shoulders slumped when he thought of the actual repairs to be made. It would be a lot of work. A LOT of work.  
  
He looked up to see both Ryoko and Ayeka approaching him.  
  
Ayeka spoke up as the two girls stopped in front of Tenchi. "Lord Tenchi, please hear me out before telling us to leave. We are sorry for what we did. It won't happen again, I swear. Please let us help you clean this up."  
  
Tenchi looked the girls for a moment. "I could use the help," he admitted. "Even with your help it will take forever to get this done. Not to mention that I have to work in the fields AND Grandfather expects me to train with him today."  
  
"If you'd just give me that sample I want then you wouldn't have to worry about fixing the kitchen," Washu piped up from behind him.  
  
"Sample? What sample? Ayeka and Ryoko asked.  
  
"Er... just a sample," Washu said. "I told Tenchi that if he'd just give it to me that I'd fix the kitchen for him."  
  
"What kind of sample?" Ryoko asked as she and Ayeka crowded Washu.  
  
"Just a sperm sample," Washu said in a small voice.  
  
"Miss Washu!" Ayeka said, outraged. "How dare you try to blackmail Tenchi in such a manner! And for a sperm sample even!"  
  
"SPERM SAMPLE!?" Ryoko shouted, all but choking on her rage. She grabbed Washu by her jacket collar and yanked the short red-head's face up to her own. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't shove you down the toilet and give it a good flush!"  
  
"If you do then I won't be able to help Tenchi with the kitchen," Washu said calmly.  
  
"You listen to me and listen good, "Mom"," Ryoko snarled. "There's no way you're getting a sperm sample from Tenchi."  
  
"Miss Washu, this type of behaviour is beneath you," Ayeka said. "Lord Tenchi has generously allowed you to live in his house, patiently endured your poking and prodding him with your "examinations" and that's not to mention the fact that he rescued you from Kagato. Now you're attempting to twist his arm by withholding help you could easily give. That is shameful behaviour, Miss Washu."  
  
"Of course I'm going to help Tenchi," Washu said as she rubbed the back of her head. "I was just joking about the sperm sample." She laughed nervously as Tenchi and the girls stared at her.  
  
"It's settled then," Ayeka declared. "Washu will take care of the kitchen and we will see to the fields for you, Lord Tenchi. You can go to the shrine to meet your grandfather."  
  
"Thanks, I really appreciate it," Tenchi said and then started out for the shrine.  
  
After Tenchi was safely out of earshot Ayeka turned toWashu. She bent down until she was nose to nose with the small scientist. "We're going to have a long talk later, Miss Washu."  
  
"Er, sure, whatever you say," Washu replied. "What about?"  
  
"Manners," Ayeka told her. "Lately you've been showing a shocking lack of them." She turned to Ryoko. "Ready?"  
  
Ryoko looked back and forth between Washu and Ayeka several times. "Whenever you are," she said, shrugging.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
It was later that evening when Ayeka had her talk with Washu.  
  
Washu was working on trying to find a way past Zero's memory blockage when she heard someone knocking on the door that lead to the Masaki home. "Come in," she called out. She turned the holo-computer off and stood up and stretched. She wasn't any closer to finding a solution than she was an hour earlier and she could use a distraction.  
  
Ayeka opened the door and entered the lab. "I hope I haven't caught you at a bad time, Miss...er...Little Washu."  
  
"Not at all, Miss Ayeka," Washu told her. "You're here to have a talk about manners I assume."  
  
"Yes, that's right," Ayeka replied.  
  
"Look, I already told you that I was just joking about the sperm sample," Washu said. "Besides, I already fixed the kitchen. What more do you want?"  
  
"I'm not here about all that," Ayeka said. "Ryoko told me what you did to her last night."  
  
"No need to thank me for that," Washu said.  
  
"Thank you?!" Ayeka said, anger creeping into her voice. "I'm hardly here to thank you. What you did was irresponsible. Not to mention mean-spirited."  
  
"You're upset because of what I did to Ryoko?" Washu asked, not quite able to believe her ears.  
  
"Normally I wouldn't care that much," Ayeka admitted. "However, what you did ended up causing severe damage to the house as well as disrupting the smooth running of this household."  
  
"Of course you are completely blameless," Washu said sarcastically.  
  
"I admit that I am guilty as well, as is Ryoko," Ayeka admitted. "We talked about it and have agreed that it won't happen again."  
  
"You two actually talked?" Washu asked, boggled by the idea of Ryoko and Ayeka talking to each other like calm rational adults.  
  
"It is possible you know!" Ayeka snapped. "Anyways, I'm not here to discuss that. I'm here to tell you that what transpired last night in this lab had better never happen again. And if you've suddenly decided that everyone in this house is fair game for your "examinations" I will guarantee that there will be severe repercussions."  
  
Washu scratched her chin. " I was thinking about examining Mihoshi," she said thoughtfully. "The only problem would be to make sure she didn't destroy the lab in the process.  
  
"Washu..." Ayeka said with her teeth clenched.  
  
"And the whole Sasami/Tsunami thing just begs to be investigated," Washu said as she tapped a finger on the bridge of her nose.  
  
"WASHU!!" Ayeka screamed as she bent over so that she was face to face with Washu. "If I ever find out that you had Sasami tied up while she was wearing nothing more than a skimpy t-shirt for one of your experiments you're going to have to use that incredible brainpower of yours to invent a way to breathe through a gaping hole in your throat!"  
  
"Just joking," Washu said hastily, holding up her hands and backing away from Ayeka. "Of course I wouldn't touch Sasami."  
  
Ayeka looked at Washu for a moment longer. "I can see there is no use trying to talk to you right now. Just remember what I said." With that she turned to leave.  
  
"It's touching to see that you have a soft spot in your heart for my daughter," Washu said as she watched Ayeka walk away.  
  
"I already told you, this isn't about Ryoko," Ayeka said, stopping but not bothering to turn to look at Washu. "It's about keeping the chaos around here to a minimum."  
  
"So, you're not concerned about Ryoko's well being at all then?" Washu asked, her tone clearly spelling out her disbelief.  
  
"What do you care?" an obviously annoyed Ayeka asked in return.  
  
"Ever since you characters brought me back from the Soja I've been curious as to why you and Ryoko feel it neccassary to fight over Tenchi," Washu said.  
  
"It seems quite simple to me," an irritated crown princess said as she turned to face Washu. "Since we both want him but only one of us can have him conflict is unavoidable."  
  
"Hmmmm.... I have to say that the Ladies Misaki and Funaho seem to get along famously," Washu said as she looked up at the ceiling of her lab.  
  
Ayeka scowled at the seeming sudden change of converation topic. Sometimes Washu was impossibly cryptic. "What are you talking about?" she demanded.  
  
Washu just gave her an evil sounding cackle.   
  
Ayeka's eyes widened moments later when she realized that Washu hadn't changed the subject at all. "NO! No possible way! Share Tenchi with Ryoko? With That Woman?! I'd sooner be dead."  
  
"You're absolutely right," Washu told her. "Since your current strategy is so successful why would you want to consider switching tactics?"  
  
"Miss Washu, the idea of sharing Tenchi with Ryoko is one that I find loathsome," Ayeka said. "I truly would prefer death."  
  
"Are you saying my daughter is loathsome?" Washu asked, her voice low and her eyes narrowed dangerously.  
  
"May I ask why we are even discussing this?" Ayeka asked, avoiding Washu's question. "I thought you wanted Tenchi for yourself."  
  
Washu chuckled. "Oh, I like Tenchi well enough. I certainly wouldn't mind some good sack time with him. Too bad he's even more scared of me than he is of Ryoko. Nah, I just like seeing him blush. He's such a cutie when he gets all red in the face. And I get a real kick watching you and Ryoko when you two get all worked up."  
  
Ayeka sighed. "This conversation is pointless. Even if I were of the mind to share Tenchi it wouldn't work. Neither Tenchi or Ryoko would allow such a thing. As a Juraian I am accustomed to the idea of polygamous marriage, however, Ryoko nor Tenchi have any such cultural predisposition."  
  
"As if Ryoko gives a damn," Washu said with a laugh. "If tumbling Tenchi meant she had to take turns with a battalion of horny and desperate space amazons I doubt she would hesitate for even a second."  
  
Ayeka silently agreed with Washu's assessment. She remembered the night when Ryoko had offered to let Ayeka "go first". Ryoko wasn't always easy to read and at the time Ayeka had assumed Ryoko was bluffing. However, she hadn't had the nerve to call Ryoko's bluff. Now she wasn't sure that Ryoko had been bluffing at all.   
  
"Even so, Tenchi would not allow it," Ayeka replied.  
  
"Spare me, Princess," Washu said. "It's funny how you are quick to point out his alleged Earthling cultural bias against polygamous marriage but haven't a word to say about a much more certain cultural bias against marrying within the family."  
  
"What do you mean?" asked Ayeka.  
  
Washu gave her a look that plainly said, "idiot". "You are Lord Katsuhito's sister. That makes you Tenchi's great aunt. He is your grand nephew. I can assure you that Earthlings as a rule have a much MUCH stronger cultural bias against incestuous marriage than they do against polygamy."  
  
Ayeka looked at the floor. She knew what Washu said to be true.  
  
"Fortunately for you, Tenchi either doesn't care or the fact that you are his great aunt hasn't occured to him," Washu continued.   
  
"Why must everything always be so difficult?" Ayeka asked. The question was directed more to the universe at large than it was to Washu and the princess didn't expect an answer from the red headed scientist.  
  
"I don't know," Washu told her. "I've been around for more than twenty thousand years and I still can't answer that. All I can tell you is, "This too shall pass"."  
  
Ayeka looked up. "It's getting late. I should go." Again she made her way towards the door of Washu's lab.  
  
"Ayeka!" Washu called out when Ayeka reached the door.  
  
Ayeka turned around to face Washu. "Yes?"  
  
"Let me ask you something. Just how has your constant fighting with Ryoko helped you get closer with Tenchi?"  
  
Ayeka was silent for several moments. "Point taken," she finally responded.  
  
"I know this goes against your grain as well as Ryoko's but don't you think you should try a different approach?" Washu asked. "You three don't need to be quite as miserable as you are. Besides, it's a pain in the backside with you and Ryoko knocking holes in the wall every other day."  
  
"Why aren't you having this discussion with Ryoko?" Ayeka asked in return.  
  
"Ryoko isn't someone who listens to reason," Washu answered. "And right now isn't a good time for me to try to approach her."  
  
"I'll think on the matter," Ayeka promised. "Now, if you don't mind it's past time I went to bed. Goodnight."  
  
"Goodnight, Ayeka," Washu said as she watched the princess leave the lab.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Ayeka was in her bedroom preparing to go to bed when Ryoko floated through the wall and sat crosslegged in the air.   
  
"So, talked to Washu already?" Ryoko asked.  
  
"Ryoko, I really wish you would knock at the door instead of just barging in," Ayeka said, irritated. "Yes, I talked to Washu."  
  
"And?" prompted Ryoko.  
  
"I don't think you have to worry about it again," Ayeka told her.  
  
Ryoko gave the princess a long look. "Thanks, Ayeka. Maybe I should have talked to her myself but I was afraid if I did I might have done something that we'd both regret. And after this morning I don't want to cause any more damage around here. Tenchi would never forgive me."  
  
"Washu said some things that are worth thinking about," Ayeka told the space pirate.   
  
"Such as?" Ryoko asked.  
  
"We've been fighting over Tenchi pretty much since I came to Earth, haven't we?" Ayeka said.  
  
Ryoko just nodded.  
  
"How much closer are either of us to Tenchi than when I first arrived?"  
  
Ryoko looked at the floor. "We aren't," she whispered.  
  
"Only fools continue to use an approach that does not work," Ayeka said. "It's time for different tactics."  
  
"Oh yeah?" Ryoko asked. "And what are those?"  
  
"I've been thinking," Ayeka told her. "And here's my plan...."  
  
  
  
  
Chapter One - Part B : The Dying Light  
  
  
The man stood up from monitering scope he had been hunched over for the last several hours and stretched.  
  
A man at another monitering scope nearby looked up and sighed. "Packing it in for the night, Marcus?"  
  
Marcus rubbed his eyes. "Yeah, another fruitless night. It's the story of my life." He looked around the room. There dozens of scopes like the one he was standing in front of. All of them currently unattended. "Huh, we're the last ones here. I hadn't even noticed."  
  
"Well, it is twenty four fifteen," Marcus's companion noted glancing at the wall clock.  
  
"Too late to be here then. Damn, just looking at the clock is making me tired,"Marcus said. He grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair. "Aren't you going to go home too, Calydon?"  
  
Calydon turned back to his scope. "Nah, I think I'll stick around for a while."  
  
"You don't need to do that," Marcus told him. "Even if something does come up we'll have the tapes to review tomorrow."  
  
"Which isn't as good as having someone on-site when an event happens," Calydon pointed out. "I know how important this is to you."  
  
Marcus reached out and grasped Calydon's shoulder. "Thanks, you're a true friend. There's not too many of those around any more."  
  
"Don't worry, you'll find what you're looking for,"Calydon said.  
  
Marcus sighed in defeat. "No I won't. Time is running out."  
  
"But the Institute...."  
  
"The Institute will do what it's told to do," Marcus said, cutting the other man off. "Just as soon as it's funding is threatened this project will be shut down. You can take that to the bank."  
  
Calydon looked away. "I'm sorry, we failed you."  
  
"You have nothing to apologize for," Marcus replied. "The failure is mine and mine alone."  
  
"But..."  
  
Marcus cut him off. "If you don't mind I would like to drop it now. Goodnight, Calydon."  
  
"Goodnight, Marcus," Calydon said as Marcus exited the room.  
  
  
  
  
  
Marcus made his way across the Science Institute's campus to one of the outlying shuttleparks. The shuttlepark was empty except for a lone jet black flitter. As he walked across the shuttlepark's smooth black surface he touched his wrist computer and the flitter's engines whined to life. Another touch and the driver's side door slid open.  
  
He was just about climb in when a voice spoke up from behind him.  
  
"I thought you might be here."  
  
Marcus sighed and turned around. "So, you couldn't resist showing up to gloat. Congratulations, Dr. Aurora," he said.   
  
Aurora shook her head, her long curly brown hair stirring in the gentle breeze. "Believe it or not, I'm not happy over the imminent demise of your project."  
  
"Bullshit!" Marcus said bitterly. "You've been trying to shut me down ever since you became Director of the High Energies Lab."  
  
"What do you expect me to do?" Aurora asked. "Your project is monopolizing our resources with nothing to show for it. And for what? What's the status of the project?"  
  
"Unchanged," Marcus answered, looking away.  
  
Aurora took a step closer to him. "Don't you see?" she asked softly. "This isn't the pursuit of science. It's an obsession with you now. Five hundred years of scouring the universe and you are no closer to finding the answer than when you first started. It's time you walked away."  
  
"You don't understand!" Marcus shouted, slamming a fist against the side the flitter.  
  
"I understand well enough," Aurora said. "I understand that you're throwing your life down a black hole. And have gained nothing for your troubles."  
  
"I've sunk everything I have into this effort," Marcus told her. "I simply can't give up now. I just can't."  
  
"You've run out of money, influential friends and political capital," Aurora pointed out. "What's next? A mortgage on the villa?"  
  
"If that's what it takes," Marcus replied.  
  
"Don't be stupid," Aurora said coldly. "The money won't even last a month."  
  
"What do you want me to do? Just give up?"  
  
"I want you to stop pissing your life away!" Aurora snapped. "Your project has scattered probes all over the universe at great cost to the Institute for a purpose that apparently only you know about. I'm tired of being out of the loop. What is so important that you'd go to this length to find it?"  
  
"I've already told you...."  
  
Aurora cut him off. "I'm sorry but the term "High Level Dimensional Reaction" is meaningless to me."  
  
Marcus flipped the braid that hung down his back over his shoulder and tugged on it. "If you are quite finished with me, Madam Director, then I'd like to leave."  
  
"Marcus, I'm not your enemy," Aurora said.  
  
"Yeah, I've heard that one before," Marcus said with a bitter laugh as he climbed into the flitter's cockpit. "That's what Lord Arkady told me the first time he tried to cut my budget out of the appropriations bill."  
  
"Marcus, I...."  
  
"Goodnight, Director," Marcus said.  
  
"Goodnight, Professor," Aurora returned.  
  
Marcus closed the flitter door. Aurora stepped back as the flitter's engines ramped up for takeoff. With a blast of air that whipped Aurora's hair and clothes the flitter took to the night sky.  
  
  
  
  
Aurora watched as the flitter banked and flew over the city before finally dissappearing into the night.  
  
"What the hell does he expect from me?" she growled in frustration as she turned away.  
  
  
  
  
Note: I have found out that starting a fic out with a "normal morning at the Masaki household" is something of a no-no in Tenchi fanfics because it is so overused. Well, too late now. Besides it sets up the rest of the chapter and it will be important in future chapters as well. 


	2. Mihoshi Strikes Again

I don't own Tenchi Muyo, any of the characters or any of Washu's crazy inventions for that matter. I'm not exactly sure who owns them but I know that it's distributed in the U.S. by Pioneer. This fanfic is written without the consent of aforementioned owners and yadda yadda yadda.  
  
Just a quick note: Words inside asterisks * * are stressed words within a sentence.  
  
Sentences within brackets { } are a character's thoughts. It's not exactly pretty I suppose but it gets the job done.  
  
  
  
  
  
Wings of the Light Hawk  
  
  
Chapter Two - Part A: Mihoshi Strikes Again  
  
This morning was like no other that Tenchi could recall. It started out normally enough. That is, Tenchi got out of his bed under his own power. However, from there is went from weird to positively surreal.  
  
He made his way to the bathroom. Normal enough as it was part of his normal routine. Usually he needed to take a lengthy piss first thing in the morning. However, this morning there was somone already using the bathroom by the time he got there.  
  
Ryoko was busy cleaning her teeth with an amount of concentration and determination that was almost comical.  
  
Ryoko looked up from the bathroom mirror and out to the hallway where Tenchi was standing. "Oh, Tenchi. You need the bathroom, huh?"  
  
"That's alright," Tenchi replied. "I can wait. Go ahead with what you're doing."  
  
"There's room for both of us in here," Ryoko replied. "C'mon in."  
  
"Umm... I think not," Tenchi said to her.  
  
Ryoko glanced down at his waist and then quickly looked up, blushing faintly. "Oh, I see. Well then, why don't you go ahead." Ryoko stepped out into the hallway.  
  
"Thanks," Tenchi said as he stepped past her and into the bathroom.  
  
{That's weird,) he thought as he slid the door shut behind him. {Since when does Ryoko brush her teeth in the morning?}   
  
He knew from experience that Ryoko was quite unconcerned about such things. From the usual morning greetings he received from Ryoko he knew that her idea of freshening her breath in morning involved sake.  
  
"It kills the germs," he remembered her explaining after she finished guzzling a whole bottle.  
  
From inside the bathroom he could hear Ayeka coming down the hallway.  
  
"Good morning, Miss Ryoko," he could hear Ayeka's voice through the door. "Is Tenchi....?"  
  
"Yeah, he's in the bathroom," Ryoko replied.  
  
"I'm surprised that you're not scratching at the door as per usual," Ayeka said.  
  
"Stuff a sock in it, Your Highness," Ryoko muttered.  
  
"Such talk!" Ayeka said with just a touch of annoyance. "I thought we had come to an agreement."  
  
"Oh, I see," Ryoko said to the princess. "You can insult me and I should just meekly take it. That's not a double standard or anything."  
  
Tenchi sighed. He had hoped that after the events of yesterday morning that household life would be relatively peaceful. Apparently it wasn't to be.  
  
"Yes, we should try to maintain at least a minimal amount of civility," Ayeka said to Ryoko. "What I should have said was, "I'm glad to see you're up so bright and early"."  
  
Tenchi's eyebrow shot up. He knew that this was as close as the princess was going to come to apologizing to the space pirate.  
  
Apparently Ryoko realized it too. "Ok, then," she replied, sounding somewhat mollified.  
  
"Come, Ryoko," Ayeka said to the blue haired girl. "Why don't we leave Lord Tenchi in peace and help Sasami with getting breakfast ready?"  
  
"Huh? But we can't cook," Ryoko protested.  
  
Ayeka sighed. "Yes, that's true. However we can at least help set the table. After all the work Sasami does around here it's the least we can do."  
  
"Actually, Ayeka , the least we can do is nothing at all," Ryoko said.  
  
"Ryoko!" yelled a slightly outraged Ayeka.  
  
"Sheeesh... alright already," Ryoko said. "See, I'm going. I'm going."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
When he finally arrived in the kitchen he was greeted by the sight of both Ryoko and Ayeka finishing getting the table set for breakfast.  
  
Ayeka glanced over at him. "Oh, good morning, Lord Tenchi. I trust you slept well?"  
  
"Just fine, Miss Ayeka," Tenchi answered. He gave Ryoko a look. "Nobody tried to kill me in my sleep. Still, you never know when someone might try."  
  
Ayeka gave Ryoko a quick glance. "Indeed you don't," she agreed.  
  
"Hey, what are you looking at me like that for?" Ryoko said. "I didn't even do anything yet."  
  
Tenchi sat down at the table. He looked around the kitchen, admiring what he saw. "I have to say that Washu does good work. You'd never guess that this was a charred ruin less than twenty four hours ago."  
  
Ayeka and Ryoko looked at each other and blushed.   
  
Mihoshi chose that moment to enter the kitchen, saving Ayeka from the prospect of having to come up with a good answer to Tenchi's otherwise innocent observation.  
  
"Good morning everyone," Mihoshi greeted them with her normal super cheerfulness. "It's another wonderful morning isn't it?"  
  
"It sure is!" Sasami agreed, momentarily turning away from the stove to smile at Mihoshi.  
  
Mihoshi hummed happily as she made her morning cup of coffee. She glanced around the kitchen. "Where's Washu? She'll miss breakfast."  
  
"Yeah..." Sasami said giving the kitchen a quick once over. "Maybe somebody should go tell her breakfast is ready."  
  
"It ain't gonna be me," Ryoko said quickly.  
  
Tenchi scratched the back of his head as everyone glanced his way. That is, everyone except Ryoko, who was busy looking thoughtful.   
  
"Not again," he groaned. They continued to stare at him expectantly. "I really think this is a bad idea but I'll do it."  
  
"Actually, I think Mihoshi should go," Ryoko said, wearing an evil grin. "It would serve that red headed runt right."  
  
Tenchi had a sudden vision of the house consumed in a mushroom cloud. "No, I'll go. After all, I guess I am ...er... the man of the house. Sort of."  
  
"I thought your father was the man of the house," Mihoshi said.  
  
"No, he's the lecherous old fart of the house," Ryoko told her. "There's a difference. Anyways, Tenchi is gonna be the man of MY house someday." She grabbed Tenchi's arm and rested her head on his shoulder. "Isn't that right, Tenchi?"  
  
Ayeka scowled at her. "Ryoko! Don't you remember our deal?"  
  
"Oh yeah, the deal," Ryoko grumbled as she let Tenchi go.  
  
"Besides, Ryoko, knowing what sort of future you most likely will have, Tenchi would be forced to be the man of your tar paper shack," Ayeka said with a chuckle. "Now what kind of life is that for a prince of Jurai?"  
  
"Girls, please let's not have a repeat of yester....." Tenchi trailed off. "Oh, good morning, Little Washu."  
  
Washu dragged herself into the kitchen. With bags under her eyes that could have easily stored luggage and a posture that could best be described as droopy, Washu looked like Death Warmed Over.  
  
"Are you not feeling well?" a concerned Sasami asked once she got a good look at Washu.  
  
"I stayed up all night working on the problem of Zero's memory block," Washu answered tiredly.  
  
"Looks like you over did it," Ayeka commented.  
  
"Perhaps, Princess, but it was worth it," Washu replied. She help up small black rectangular device. "I have in my hand the solution to the problem."  
  
"What is it, Little Washu?" Tenchi asked.  
  
"Oh, just my latest invention," Washu said proudly. "See, I discovered that Zero's memory loss was actually a memory block that was placed there intentionally. A powerful protection mechanism indeed. But whoever put it there was a bit too clever for thier own good. The memory block is caused by synaptic misfirings within her brain. Those misfirings are based on a seemingly random sequence of prime numbers."  
  
"How exactly is that good news?" asked the crown princess.  
  
"I said that the sequence was seemingly random, however it must have a pattern, no matter how hard to discern," Washu answered. "That's where this device comes in. Even as I speak it's analyzing the data I retreived from Zero's memory. It's only a matter of time before it completes it's analysis. From there it should be simple to come up with a formula for the solution to Zero's memory lock."  
  
"Wow, that's impressive, Miss Washu," Mihoshi said as she turned away from the counter with coffee mug in hand.  
  
"Of course it is," Washu replied. "After all, I AM the Greatest Scientific Mind in the Uni...."  
  
Mihoshi let out a startled squawk as she stubbed her toe on the infinite will of the universe while making her way to the table. As she fell forward the coffee mug shot of her outstretched hands like a lightning bolt loosed from the heavens. Splashing coffee across the kitchen, the mug flew across the kitchen and slammed into Washu's newest invention as if guided by radar.  
  
Washu gasped in horror as the analyzer was knocked out of her hand and fell to the floor with a convincing crash. She bent over and picked up the device, inspecting it carefully.  
  
Mihoshi picked herself up off the floor and quickly moved towards Washu.   
  
Washu stood back up and turned towards Mihoshi."You're damn lucky, Mihoshi. It seems to be alri..." Washu was cut off as she ran into Mihoshi face first. Or rather, ran into Mihoshi's generous assets face first.   
  
"I'm so sorry, Washu. Here, let me help you with that." Mihoshi made a grab for Washu's device but instead managed to knock it out of Washu's grasp yet again. This time the analyzer flew across the kitchen and landed with a sickening smash.  
  
Washu spent several moments trying to free herself before she managed to pry her face out from between Mihoshi's breasts. She stalked over to where the device had landed.  
  
"Mihoshi....I'm going to KILL you!" she snarled as she picked up the mangled analyzer.  
  
"It was an accident." Mihoshi said in a small voice. "I'm sorry..."  
  
"*You're* the accident!" Washu grunted. "I think it's high time someone dealt with you."  
  
"Washu, wait..." Mihoshi pleaded.  
  
Instead of waiting Washu tapped on her computer. A small black hole appeared floating in the air in the middle of the kitchen. It disgorged a broom and then disappeared.  
  
Washu grabbed the broom handle. "Prepare to die," she growled.  
  
'Please, Washu, listen to.." Mihoshi was silenced as Washu brought the business end of the broom down on top of Mihoshi's head.  
  
"Be reasonable, Wash..." This time Mihoshi got a face full of broom bristles. She decided on the better part of valor and fled the kitchen.  
  
"You can run but you can't hide," Washu called out and tore off after Mihoshi.  
  
"Just goes to show that even the greatest scientific genius in the universe is no match for someone like Mihoshi," Ryoko said, laughing.  
  
"Ryoko!" Tenchi snapped, feeling a bit outraged. "That device is important to Washu. It's also important to us. We need to know what Dr. Clay was up to just as much as Washu does"  
  
"I can't believe I'm saying this but this time Ryoko's right," Ayeka said. "This time Washu had it coming."  
  
"Wha....? You're sticking up for her?" Tenchi asked Ayeka, completely bewildered.  
  
"You needn't be so surprised," Ayeka said with a small laugh. "Ryoko and I can get along when we want to."  
  
"Um... when did this happen?" Tenchi asked.  
  
"We had a talk and we've decided to bury the hatchet," Ayeka answered.  
  
"Bury the hatchet?" Tenchi said. The images that sprang to his mind were rather gruesome. But they *did* involve hatchets.  
  
"Er... declared a truce," Ayeka amended quickly. "Isn't that right, Ryoko?"  
  
"Oh yes, me and Ayeka are best friends now," Ryoko said, her voice thick with false sweetness. She wrapped an arm around Ayeka and embraced the princess.  
  
"I don't know if I'd call us friends," Ayeka said as she shrugged off the space pirate's hug. "Still, we are trying to get along and that's what counts."  
  
"I think it's great that you two can be friends now," Sasami said, beaming at them both.  
  
"You really are a sweet kid," Ryoko said as she ruffled the younger princess' hair.  
  
At that moment Mihoshi ran by the kitchen window shrieking as Washu chased her with the broom.  
  
"Take that and that and that and that!" the short scientist yelled as she repeatedly smacked the blonde bombshell over the head.  
  
"They look like they're having fun," Ryoko chuckled.  
  
"Who knew that one cup of coffee would be so effective at waking Washu up?" Ayeka said.  
  
"We really should eat," Tenchi said, realizing that he was starving. "Here Sasami went to all the trouble of making breakfast and it's growing cold."  
  
"Of course," Ayeka said. She retrieved the coffee pot. "Coffee, Lord Tenchi?"  
  
"Actually, I'm quite wide awake for some reason this morning," Tenchi answered. "I think I'll have tea."  
  
"Here you go," Ryoko said as she handed him a cup of tea.  
  
"Oh, I see," Ayeka said, somewhat crestfallen.  
  
"However, I would love to have some orange juice," Tenchi said, looking at the elder princess.  
  
"Of course, Lord Tenchi," Ayeka replied happily. Moments later she set a glass of orange juice in front of Tenchi.  
  
"I thank you both," Tenchi said, taking the trouble to favor both the princess and the space pirate with a smile.  
  
"You're welcome, Tenchi," they replied, all but beaming with joy.  
  
"And I want to thank you, Sasami, for making another wonderful breakfast," Tenchi told the young princess. "Washu might be the greatest scientific genius in the universe but I think that you are probably the greatest culinary genius in the universe"  
  
Sasami blushed a bright red. "Thank you," she mumbled.  
  
"You're welcome, my Tenchi," Ryoko said and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.  
  
"Ryoko!" Ayeka growled.  
  
"Hey, it was just an innocent gesture of affection," Ryoko responded. "Lighten up a little."  
  
"So is this," Ayeka said and gave Tenchi a quick kiss of her own.  
  
The elder Juraian princess immediately grew red in the face. "Oh! I don't know what came over me. Lord Tenchi, I ... I'm sorry."   
  
Ayeka stood up and fled from the kitchen.  
  
"Ayeka, it's alright. I'm not..." Tenchi trailed off as princess disappeared from sight.  
  
"That princess sure is a riot," Ryoko said. "Sometimes she just kills me."  
  
"Now there is just the three of us and all this food," Sasami said sadly.  
  
"That's alright," Ryoko said. "Just means more for us."  
  
"What a morning," Tenchi said with a sigh.  
  
"I think it's been a great morning," Ryoko. "I hope the rest of the day is this good."  
  
"It's been an unusual morning, that's for sure," Tenchi replied.  
  
"Different can be good," Ryoko said as she leaned her head on Tenchi's shoulder.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Ryoko knocked on the door to the bedroom that the two princesses shared.  
  
"Who is it?" Ayeka called out from inside the bedroom.  
  
"It's me, your friendly neighborhood space pirate," Ryoko answered.  
  
Ryoko could hear Ayeka grumbling to herself. After a couple of minutes the princess spoke loud enough to be heard. "Go away, I don't wish to speak to you."  
  
"Yeah, right," Ryoko said and phased through the door.  
  
"Ryoko, I thought I told you to leave me alone," Ayeka said with irritation.  
  
"How long are you going to sit in your room and pout?" Ryoko asked.  
  
"I'm not pouting!" Ayeka said hotly.  
  
"You need to get a grip, Princess," Ryoko told her. "It's not like you ripped his clothes off and ravished him right there on the kitchen table. It was just a little kiss."  
  
"Ravishing Tenchi on the kitchen table is more your style I would think," Ayeka said.  
  
"Yeah, I would have but Sasami was there," Ryoko said with a grin.  
  
"Everything is a joke to you," Ayeka muttered darkly.  
  
"And you always have to be uptight about everything," Ryoko shot back. "If you'd just lighten up a bit maybe you'd enjoy life more."  
  
"I enjoy life just fine, thank you," Ayeka told Ryoko. "What concern of yours is it anyways?"  
  
"Huh! *You're* the one pushing this whole truce idea," Ryoko retorted. "Maybe I'm just trying to be friendly."  
  
"Well don't," Ayeka said. "It's unnatural."  
  
"Fine, I know when I'm not wanted," Ryoko said. "I guess I'll hang out with Sasami, seeing as how she actually likes it when I try to be nice." With that Ryoko floated towards the bedroom door.  
  
"Ryoko, wait," Ayeka called.  
  
Ryoko turned around. "Changed your mind, Ayeka?"  
  
"Perhaps you're right," Ayeka admitted. "It was an innocent kiss after all. I suppose that sometimes I do over react a bit."  
  
"Now was that so hard?" Ryoko asked, floating over to the princess.  
  
"I suppose we really should see to getting the household chores done," Ayeka said, grabbing Ryoko's arm.  
  
"Wha...? Hey! Leggo!" Ryoko said, struggling against Ayeka's grasp on her arm.  
  
"That includes you, Monster Woman," Ayeka said.  
  
"I like to have a full day of lazing about before tackling any chores," Ryoko told the princess..  
  
"If you're willing to help me be a little less uptight then it's only fair that I help you be more diligent about doing work around the house," Ayeka said.  
  
"I don't think it's fair at all," Ryoko protested.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Tenchi wiped the sweat from his forehead. Seeing to it that Ryo-ohki had enough carrots was an arduous and full time job.   
  
{I'm having a hard time picturing Ryoko and Ayeka doing this,} he thought, remembering the girls offering to work the fields the day before.  
  
He especially had a hard time picturing Ryoko doing the sustained physical labor required. Ryoko was very much into work avoidance.  
  
{That's not completely fair,} he chided himself. {After all, she does do housework. The toilet for example.}  
  
It was true that Zero had an influence on Ryoko. Trying to quantify that influence was all but impossible. As was trying to quantify his own feelings for Ryoko/Zero. Or Ayeka for that matter.  
  
{At least they seem to be getting along better since yesterday,} he thought. {I wonder what that "deal" they mentioned is all about.}   
  
It seemed that something good might have come from the previous morning's breakfast fiasco. If Ayeka and Ryoko really had worked out some kind of deal to keep the peace then it certainly was a positive developement.  
  
{Maybe life around here will gain a bit of sanity,} he hoped, but not too optimistically.  
  
Tenchi loved each and every one of the girls deeply but sometimes he wished for a little less upheaval. Still, if he had to choose between them and peacefulness he would choose them without a moment's hesitation. His family was THE priority in his life and they were as much family as his father and grandfather.  
  
His thoughts turned back to Ryoko and Ayeka. If there was a way that those two could develop a closer friendship he would be profoundly grateful to the universe. It seemed that they spent most of their time trying to pull him in two different directions.  
  
It was a problem with no readily apparent solution. A true conundrum. He had feelings for both of them. However, it was impossible to express those feelings. If he let them show then it was certain to hurt the other girl. "I would rather die than forsake any one of them," he had told Kagato. It was true then and it continued to be true.  
  
{Sometimes it feels like I have to walk on a tightrope,} he thought.   
  
It seemed unfair to him. Here he was, a mere seventeen years old and he had what felt like the weight of the galaxy on his shoulders. Not only was he a prince of Jurai but also now the owner of the Master Key. When added to the fact that he could also wield the Light Hawk Wings it all seemed so overwhelming for a mere Earth boy.  
  
That two of the galaxy's most powerful beings wanted him for their own was almost insult to injury.  
  
{It's not even fair,} Tenchi thought. {Why should I be able to handle all this when Ryoko and Ayeka obviously can't? And they're both older than me.}  
  
It was true, they were both older than him and it was unquestionable that to date they had not handled their domestic situation very well at all.   
  
He knew for a fact that Ryoko was some five thousand years old. Ayeka he was less sure about. He knew that both Ayeka and Sasami had left Jurai about seven hundred years ago. However, it sounded like they had been some kind of stasis field on that long journey. He wasn't exactly sure but he knew that it was impossible for Sasami to actually be seven hundred years old. Even so, he was fairly certain that Ayeka was still significantly older than he was.  
  
{And she's been training to rule Planet Jurai from childhood,} he mused. {If anyone should be able to deal with this situation it should be her.}  
  
A love triangle with extra-terrestrial girls wasn't something that any seventeen year old male was prepared for, no matter how pretty the girls in question were.  
  
Moreover, Ayeka came from a culture that practiced polygamous marriage. The idea of multiple spouses and love triangles should be old hat to her. If *she* wasn't handling this situation well then why the hell should *he* be expected to be able to do the right thing? Whatever that was.  
  
Which begged the question; what *was* the right thing to do anyhow?  
  
To chose one would be to stick a knife in the other's heart. Sometimes he wished he could chose them both, for the sake of expediency if for no other reason. But he knew that any attempt would end up a complete disaster. Besides, just the idea seemed wrong somehow.  
  
When presented with the puzzle of the Gordian Knot, Alexander had used a direct, simple and elegant solution. He cut through it with a sword.  
  
Tenchi had thought about a similiar solution to his own problem. There were plenty of girls at school. A few of them even seemed somewhat interested in him. Sakuya for example. She definitely seemed to like him. If he were to start seeing Sakuya then the whole love triangle would be out the window.  
  
It was a direct, simple and elegant solution. It was also a terrible solution.  
  
Saying that Ryoko and Ayeka would both go ballistic was an understatement. There would be an ugly confrontation. A confrontation that Sakuya just might not survive.  
  
Worse, he would being seeing Sakuya for the wrong reasons. She would merely be a means to an end. Being that underhanded was disgusting. Plus there was the fact that he would hurt not just one of the girls but hurt them both.  
  
No, it wasn't a very good solution at all. Dating girls from school was out of the question.  
  
{Great, I've come up with a bunch of ideas that *won't* work, now what about something that *will* work?}  
  
Tenchi heaved a deep sigh. He had a feeling that there *wasn't* any ideas that would work.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
The two girls surveyed their handiwork. One with a certain amount of satisfaction and the other with a nearly equal amount of disgust.  
  
"Now was that so bad?" Ayeka asked cheerfully.  
  
"What is it with you and obsessive neatness?" Ryoko asked. "Doing chores is boring, yet you actually enjoy it."  
  
"It's good for one's character," Ayeka responded primly.  
  
"I like my character just fine, thank you," Ryoko said defensively.  
  
"I'm sure you do," Ayeka said. "But what about Lord Tenchi? Did you ever stop to think that perhaps he doesn't appreciate lazy drunken space pirates?"  
  
"I am not a lazy drunk!" Ryoko snapped. "Anyways, maybe Tenchi doesn't care for frigid stuck-up princesses."  
  
"Frigid!?" Ayeka shouted. "I'll show you frigid!"  
  
The two glared at each other, the tension almost becoming tangible. Ryoko's hands began to glow with energy while Ayeka summoned her power logs.  
  
The sound of noisy throat clearing brought them back to reality. They turned to see a frowning Sasami glaring at them.  
  
"I thought you two were friends now," the younger princess said accusingly.  
  
The glow in Ryoko's hands faded as Ayeka's logs disappeared. They both looked at each other shamefacedly.  
  
"I bet Tenchi would disappointed," Sasami said, turning her nose up and her back to them. She looked at them out of the corner of her eye to gauge their reaction.  
  
The two girls were looking at the floor.   
  
"You're right,Sasami," Ayeka admitted. "We are being silly." She turned to Ryoko. "Even if I think you're lazy drunk I should have refrained from saying so."  
  
To Ryoko it sounded like a half hearted apology. She decided to return the favor."I shouldn't have called you frigid, even if that's what you are."  
  
Sasami gave them a look of approval. "See, I just know you can be friends."  
  
Ryoko yawned and then stretched. "After all that housework I could use a nice long hot soak."  
  
"That certainly sounds like a good idea," Ayeka agreed.  
  
"Time's a-wasting," Ryoko said and grabbed Ayeka's arm.  
  
"Ryoko, wait...."  
  
The two faded from sight before Ayeka could finish her sentence.   
  
  
  
  
  
The two materialized in the floating onsen only to find it was occupied. Washu and Mihoshi were already bonelessly soaking in the hot water.  
  
"But... but... I thought you were busy trying kill her," Ryoko said to Washu, pointing at Mihoshi.  
  
"I got tired," Washu replied. "Besides, Mihoshi can really run."  
  
"I always aced all the physical endurance courses at the Academy," Mihoshi said proudly.  
  
A moment later a naked Ryoko slid into the hot water even as her now empty blue and yellow dress fell to the deck.  
  
Ayeka stepped out of sight to undress and wrap herself in a large towel as was her usual habit.  
  
{She's so predictable,} Ryoko thought as she watched Ayeka step into the water. {I almost feel sorry for her.}  
  
"I'm glad you're here, Ryoko," Washu said. "What with Mihoshi doing her usual number on my equipment this morning I need to rescan Zero's memory again."  
  
Ryoko favored Washu with a hostile glare. "Forget it, Washu. There's no way I'm stepping foot in your lab again."  
  
"Ryoko, I wouldn't ask this if it weren't important," Washu told her.  
  
"I really don't care how important it is," Ryoko replied. "There's no way I'm going back in there."  
  
"But Ryoko...."  
  
"I said no and I mean no!" Ryoko said loudly.  
  
"But...." Washu pleaded.  
  
"Miss Washu, you abused your trust with Ryoko," Ayeka told the red headed genius. "You have no one to blame but yourself for Ryoko's refusal to help you."  
  
"Perhaps, but I'm afraid I must insist, Ryoko dear," Washu said, looking directly at Ryoko.  
  
"What are you gonna do? Force me?" Ryoko asked with contempt. She teleported onto the deck and slipped into her dress. Moments later she dissapeared from view.  
  
Washu slumped down into the water. "Damn," she sighed sadly.  
  
Ayeka gave Washu a look of sympathy. "This goes against my better judgement but I will speak to Ryoko for you. I still don't approve of your actions regarding Ryoko but I agree that personal feelings are of lesser importance than our safety."  
  
"I don't know that it will do any good but thanks," Washu said.  
  
Ayeka silently studied Washu before speaking. "I still owe you for your help with Ryu-oh's planter. You can consider it a partial payment on that debt."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Tenchi slipped out of his shoes as he walked through the front door. Once inside he saw that Sasami was on the couch watching tv.  
  
"Where is everyone?" he asked.  
  
"Hi, Tenchi," Sasami greeted, turning around to look at him. "I don't know where everyone is, sorry."  
  
"In that case I'll be in my room," Tenchi said. If everyone was gone maybe he clould look forward to a few hours of peace and privacy inside the house. Soon enough he'd have some household crisis to deal with.  
  
Once in his room he lay back on his bed.  
  
{Working those fields is exhausting. I think I deserve a little rest. I'll just rest my eyes for a few minutes.}  
  
Tenchi was snoring gently within minutes.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Ayeka muttered under her breath as she stubbed her toe on yet another rock. The search for Ryoko had taken a lot longer than she had anticipated.   
  
She cupped her hands to her mouth. "Ryoko! Ryoko! Where are you!? Can you hear me, Ryoko!?" The princess sighed. She had promised Washu that she would speak to the blue haired pirate but she wasn't about to spend all night searching for the girl.  
  
"Ryoko! Ryoko!" Ayeka paused and listened for a reply. She was greeted by the normal sounds of the deep woods. {This is ridiculous. Why would she be in these woods anyways?} she asked herself.  
  
The princess turned to go back to the house when a sudden inspiration hit her. With a determined stride she made her way to a new destination.  
  
Walking into the clearing at the cave entrence she immediately recognized the shock of spiky blue hair and it's owner.  
  
"I would think this is a strange place to find you," Ayeka said as she drew closer to Ryoko.  
  
"Ayeka, I would really like to be left alone," Ryoko said without turning to look at Ayeka.  
  
"I would like nothing more than to leave you alone," Ayeka replied. "However, I need to talk to you about Washu's request."  
  
"What about it?" Ryoko asked.  
  
"Ryoko, I don't blame you for being angry at Washu," Ayeka said. "However, it's important for you to submit to Washu's brainscan."  
  
"I already told you that I'm never going into Washu's lab again!" Ryoko yelled angrily.  
  
"It's always about what you want, isn't it?" Ayeka replied with disgust. "The truth is, we need the information that's hidden in that brain of yours. Whoever this Lady Tokimi is that sent Dr. Clay to kidnap Washu is someone who is very dangerous."  
  
"Oh well, not my problem," Ryoko replied  
  
"And if this mysterious Lady Tokimi comes after Tenchi?" Ayeka asked.  
  
"Now why would she do that?" Ryoko said.  
  
"I would think that his ability to generate the Wings of the Light Hawk would be reason enough," Ayeka answered.  
  
"Damn you Ayeka! I don't want to have to go through that again," Ryoko said, her fists clenched as she remembered her helplessness in Washu's lab.  
  
"But you will do it, right? For Tenchi's sake?"  
  
Ryoko curled up and hugged her knees. "Yes, for Tenchi I'll do it," she said, her voice not much more than a whisper.  
  
Ayeka lightly touched Ryoko's back for the merest fraction of a second. "Don't worry about Washu, I'll go with you. If she tries to humiliate you again then I'll deal with her myself."  
  
"You'd do that for me?" Ryoko asked, somewhat shocked by the idea.  
  
"Ryoko, I'm asking you to this as a favor to Washu," Ayeka explained. "If she uses this to take advantage of you again I will consider it to be a personal affront."  
  
"Take advantage of me huh?" Ryoko all but snarled. "Don't worry about me, Princess. If she tries I'll make sure she regrets it for a long time to come."  
  
"If Washu doesn't scare you then why the hesitation to go into her lab?" Ayeka asked.  
  
"Being tied up in Washu's lab brought back some memories," Ryoko replied. "Memories I'd rather not remember. I'd rather not go through it again."  
  
"Memories?" Ayeka asked.  
  
"Of what I was before Tenchi rescued me from the cave." Ryoko answered.  
  
"The Monster Woman," Ayeka stated. She remembered what Ryoko was like under Kagato's spell when Tenchi and his grandfather confronted the meglomaniac. It had been frightening to watch the normally willful space pirate behave like a mindless marionette.  
  
"Seven hundred years as a ghost was almost as bad," Ryoko said.  
  
"That's all behind you now," Ayeka said. "Nothing can bring it back. I doubt Tenchi would allow it. However, we need those memories of Zero's that you have locked inside your brain. If you won't do it for Washu then do it for Tenchi's sake."  
  
"I would do anything for Tenchi," Ryoko stated plainly.  
  
Ayeka remembered a determined Ryoko vowing vengeance on Kagato for Tenchi's death. She had indeed been willing to die to avenge Tenchi. Somewhere deep in her soul the princess knew that to live without Tenchi *was* death as far as Ryoko was concerned.  
  
"I know you would," Ayeka told the blue haired girl.  
  
  
  
  
Chapter Two - Part B: Bearers of Bad News  
  
  
  
  
Marcus was finally facing that which fills even the bravest heart with an unreasonable dread. He had done everything in his power to avoid that which had opened it's devouring maw to crush him into nothingness. However, a man cannot avoid his fate. There comes a point in his life when he must face the inevitable.   
  
Marcus knew he couldn't put off mowing the lawn any longer.  
  
{Well, it fills *my* heart with dread, anyways,} he thought.  
  
With the air of a man who's wife had handed him a shopping list and fat handful of coupons to do the weekly grocery shopping, Marcus dragged into the light of day the ancient contraption that he infrequently used to make tall grass shorter. Next was the ritual of getting the thing started. Like most men in the Megaverse, Marcus was well aware of the fact that mowers past their warranty required a lot of coaxing. Usually in the form of curses and kicks.  
  
Marcus flipped the start switch. Nothing happened. He reset it and flipped it again. Again nothing happened. Next came a solid kick to the engine housing. Still nothing. In frustration he punched the mower, following that up with a stream of profanity as he checked his hand for broken bones.  
  
Finally, he managed to hit upon the right combination. He slammed his foot into the mower while screamimg, "Start, you stupid son of a bi...."  
  
The mower started with a roar and a cloud of blue smoke.  
  
Not wasting a moment, Marcus invaded the great untamed wilderness that was his yard. Unfortunately, the mower sputtered and died when it hit the wet grass and the expedition came to a halt almost as soon as it began.  
  
As he was going through another round of the mower starting ritual he heard the sound of an approaching flitter. He stood up and watched as it came to a rest next to his own flitter on the shuttle pad.  
  
Marcus glanced at his watch. {Hmmpphhh... not even nine o'clock. Talk about being indecently early.}  
  
The passenger side door slid open and a figure wearing well polished chrome plated armor and a long charcoal grey cape emerged from the flitter's cockpit.  
  
{Full senatorial regalia yet,} Marcus thought sourly. {He doesn't even *try* to restrain his impulse towards pomposity.}  
  
Two more men who were obviously bodyguards emerged from the flitter. Flanked by his bodyguards, the senator approached Marcus.   
  
"Isn't this a bit out of the way from your normal haunts, Lord Arkady?" Marcus said when the three men were close enough that he didn't have to shout.  
  
Arkady ignored the question. "It is with regret that I must inform you that the Senate has decided not to renew your franchise with the Science Institute."  
  
"Yeah, I'll bet you're real broke up about it," Marcus replied.  
  
Arkady turned to one of the bodyguards who in turn handed him an envelope. Arkady held out to Marcus.  
  
"This is your official notification of the Senate's decision," Arkady said as Marcus took the envelope.  
  
Marcus looked the envelope over for a moment before letting it fall to the ground. "Was the ceremonial armor really necessary? he asked. "For that matter, was it necessary for you to hand deliver the notice? There must any number of ass-kissing yes men that you could have sent."  
  
"As a representative of the Senate I felt it was my duty," Arkady told him.  
  
{Sure, it has nothing to do with the fact that you wanted to personally rub it in my face.}  
  
"Of course, nothing prevents you from maintaining your current arrangements with the Institute if you should obtain outside funding," Arkady continued.  
  
Marcus chuckled. "Sure. Why not? I'm sure that there are financial houses all over the galaxy lined up to give me a loan."  
  
"Well then, it should pose no problem to you," Arkady said.  
  
Marcus turned back to the problem of the mower. "As much as I'd love to spend the day chatting with you I have full day of screwing around to do." Marcus kicked the mower a few more times and tried to coax it back to life.   
  
The mower roared back to life, drowning the senator and his two bodyguards in a cloud of smoke. After the smoke had cleared Marcus made deliberate eye contact with Arkady and pushed the mower over the envelope he had dropped. Then he hit the kill switch.  
  
"You can go to hell," Marcus said. "Along with the Senate. Now I want you to take your two goons and get off my property."  
  
"Marcus, I realize you're a stubborn man," Arkady said as Marcus turned away. "I even admire you for it to a degree. However, even you must bow to the inevitable."   
  
"The inevitable, huh?"  
  
"I know this will be hard for you to accept but you represent this planet's past," Arkady said to Marcus. "You are the very image of the Old Guard, right down to that ridiculous braid of yours."  
  
"Ridiculous, huh!?" Marcus snarled.  
  
"It hasn't been fashionable for centuries and yet you persist in wearing it like that," Arkady pointed out. "However, this isn't about how you choose to wear your hair. This is about living in the past as opposed to facing the future. It's plain to see that you're still living in the past."  
  
"And you're so eager to forget the past, to forget history," Marcus retorted.  
  
"There is a difference between remembering history and attempting to hold on to the past," Arkady replied.  
  
"Of course, you represent this planet's future," Marcus said sarcastically.  
  
Arkady chose to ignore the sarcasm. "I understand the need for progress. Not just on Consaeda but indeed on the galactic scale."  
  
Marcus was about to reply when a low rumble announced an approaching shuttle dropping from the sky.   
  
Craning his neck to watch the shuttle descending, Marcus could see that the shuttle belonged to the Science Institute. "This really is adding insult to injury," he muttered.   
  
"Is that...?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's Dr, Aurora," Marcus said, cutting Arkady off. "No doubt come to give me the good news."  
  
Together they watched the shuttle settle on the pad.  
  
"I thought you were leaving," Marcus said to Arkady.  
  
"Yes, well it would be rude to leave without greeting Dr. Aurora," Arkady replied.   
  
{You're not fooling anyone with that,} Marcus thought snidely, as Arkady stared at Aurora climbing down from the shuttle's cockpit.  
  
"Good morning," Aurora said, greeting the two men when she had made her way over to them.  
  
"Good morning, Doctor," Arkady replied and bowed while Marcus rolled his eyes at the display.   
  
"I had no idea you two were close friends," Aurora said, giving Arkady a look.  
  
"Actually, the good Senator was just leaving," Marcus told her.  
  
Arkady gave Marcus an angry glance. "Apparently I have over stayed my welcome. All for the best I suppose. After all, I do have a full day ahead of me. Good day, Dr. Aurora." He inclined his head to the curly haired doctor.  
  
"And don't forget to take Thing 1 and Thing 2 with you!" Marcus called out as he watched the Senator walk away, trailed by his bodyguards.  
  
"Why do you insist on always trying to provoke him?" Aurora asked.  
  
"Same reason he tries to stick a knife in my back every chance he gets," Marcus replied. "Because he can."  
  
"Let's forget all that," Aurora said. "I just wanted to see how you're doing. I figured you would have heard the news already."  
  
"Yeah, the senator was kind enough to hand deliver the notice of the Senate's decision cut out the project's funding from the Institute budget," Marcus told her as he pointed at the pieces of the notice on the ground.  
  
"You're taking this a lot better than I thought you would," Aurora told him.  
  
"What? You were expecting me to shrivel up and die?" Marcus asked. "Sorry to disappoint you."  
  
"So, what will you do now?" Aurora asked.  
  
"I really don't know," Marcus answered. He looked at the villa and the surrounding property "I guess I'll work around here. It is looking a bit shabby."  
  
Aurora let her gaze settle on the villa. "Shabby or not this place is still elegant. Still, it is a shame that you've let it go to pot. I hope you're serious about restoring your home to it's former condition."  
  
"I have all the time in the world now. Thanks to you," Marcus said.  
  
"What about money?" Aurora asked him. "Working on Summerhome will be costly. If you need a loan...."  
  
"What?" Marcus snorted. "You'll give me a loan? Forget it. I refuse to owe you a thing. I'd rather see it a tumbled down wreck."  
  
"I always wondered why you called this place "Summerhome"," Aurora said. "It's so damn cold here in the winter."  
  
"Huh?" Marcus said, confused by the change in topic. "Um.... well it's a story that goes way back."  
  
"I have all day to hear it," Aurora told him.  
  
"Yeah, maybe some other day," Marcus said and turned his attention once again to the mower.  
  
"Is that a internal combustion engine in that thing?" Aurora asked, looking at the contraption.  
  
"Got it in one," Marcus confirmed.  
  
"But the use of fossil fuels has been banned for centuries on this planet," Aurora said.  
  
"Yup. Going to turn me in?" Marcus asked.  
  
"I'm not that petty," Aurora replied.  
  
"Could have fooled me," Marcus grumbled under his breath.  
  
Aurora's eyes narrowed. "Well, I just came by to check on you. Since you don't seem suicidal I guess I can leave without worrying that someone will find you hanging from a tree limb with a note pinned to your shirt."  
  
"As alway, your concern is touching," Marcus told her.  
  
"Someday you'll see that I'm right," Aurora said. "Someday you'll understand that this is for the best."  
  
"I'm sure I will," Marcus answered.  
  
"Take care of yourself, Marcus," Aurora said.  
  
After a several moments of silence Aurora turned away and walked to her shuttle.  
  
Marcus watched as the shuttle took to the sky with a roar from it's powerful engines.  
  
"You really don't know me at all if you think I'm going to give up merely because of those spineless cowards in the Senate," he said as the shuttle disappeared into the blue sky. "Now that I know those gems are in this reality I won't let anything stop me from finding them."  
  
  
  
  
  
Aurora sat back in the pilot's seat and sighed. "Marcus, not only are you a stubborn ass but you're a lousy liar as well."  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter Two - Part C: Service with a Smile  
  
  
  
  
The Lady Tokimi glared at her chief subordinate, D3. "What were you thinking?" she hissed in anger. "A memory block based on a sequence of prime numbers!? Did you really think that it would be beyond Washu's capabilities to break through such a barrier?"  
  
D3 bowed as low as he could possibly could. "Please, My Lady..."  
  
"SILENCE!" Tokimi snapped. "Washu is the greatest scientific mind in *any* universe. Undoing the block you set up is child's play to one such as her. How dare you underestimate her prodigious mental faculties!"  
  
"I beg your forgiveness," D3 said.  
  
"Only the Galaxy Police detective prevented our plans from falling into complete disarray," Tokimi told him. "I want you to always remember that from now on you owe your continued existence to a human."  
  
"Yes, My Lady."  
  
Tokimi studied him. "Your predecessors both failed me. You are merely the replacement of earlier chief servants. Never forget that you too can be replaced if need be."  
  
"I will not fail you again, Lady Tokimi," D3 assured her. 


End file.
